


Interlude 1

by OctolingO



Series: Darksverse [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:27:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23477716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OctolingO/pseuds/OctolingO
Summary: I recently finished a fic called Your Dark Side May not be as Dark as it Seems. This is a collection of short stories I wrote that take place just after that fic!
Series: Darksverse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1768966
Comments: 26
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

“Twilight!” Someone whispered. Twilight opened his eyes, forgetting he’d taken the Hawkeye Mask off before he’d fallen asleep. He felt a moment of panic before he remembered it was right next to him. He put it on, and Carnage’s face came into focus.

“Carnage? Why’d you wake me up?”   
“We’re going to race the horses!” Carnage said. 

“Right!” Twilight said, standing up. The two boys picked their way through their friends, being careful not to wake anyone up. They went outside and to the horses. There were three: a brown mare (the legendary Epona), a black mare (dubbed Tatl), and a gray mare (dubbed Navi).

“I’ll take the gray one, you take the black one.” Twilight said, walking up to Navi and rubbing his hand across her muzzle. “We got this, right girl?” He mumbled to her. Navi snorted.

“I don’t think your horse is particularly interested in winning, Twilight.” Carnage teased. Twilight rolled his eyes.

“Neither is yours.” Carnage turned his head, seeing that Tatl was nibbling on the edge of his white wolf pelt.

“C’mon girl, I wanna win this!” Carnage whispered to his horse. She whinnied in response, as if to say,  _ so do I, I was just hungry _ . 

“We’d better get this started before the others wake up and realize we didn’t let them watch.” Twilight said, rolling his shoulders. He led Navi out onto the track, Carnage and Tatl following behind. 

“Three laps around the track, first person to complete their third wins.” Carnage said.

“Yup.” Twilight said. “Three…”

“Two…”

“One…”

“Go!” Both boys dug their heels into their horses’ sides (being careful not to hurt the creatures) and set off racing down the track. Twilight was initially in the lead, Navi having expended a burst of speed as soon as Carnage said ‘go’. He stayed in the winning position for the first lap-and-a-half, hugging the side of the track. However, as the second lap began, Carnage spurred his horse. He rode out from behind Twilight and maneuvered around the Ordonian hero, gaining the lead. 

Carnage finished the third lap as winner.

“Yes!” He shouted. The two of them trotted back to the stable, putting Navi and Tatl back in their stalls.

“That was some good riding. Where’d you learn it?” Twilight asked, feeding Navi an apple.

“I had a horse in my adventures.” Carnage said. “Her name was Cloud.”

“Was?”

“She…” Carnage cleared his throat. “She was killed during a battle.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” Twilight said with a frown. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s alright. Did you have a horse on your travels?”

“Yeah, Epona. I… I don’t know what I would’ve done if she’d died.” Twilight said. 

“It seems like we have a lot in common.” Carnage remarked.

“Well, we are alternate versions of each other.” Twilight said. “You know, I really don’t know anything about your adventure, and I don’t think you know much about mine.”

“Correct, and?”   
“I’m willing to share with you.” Twilight said quietly. “If you’re willing to share with me.” Carnage paused. Then he sighed.

“Alright. You first.” 

“Okay.” Twilight said. He sat down on a hay bale and began telling the story of his adventures. He went through his journey of both Hyrule and the Twilight Realm, leaving out nothing. It was the first time he’d ever talked about his journey in its entirety. Twilight’s voice began to break by the time he was telling the tale of Midna’s abandoning.

“She broke the mirror…” He whispered. “And she left me…” A single tear rolled down Twilight’s cheek. 

“Twilight…” Carnage said hesitantly. “Twilight, I’m so sorry—” 

“No, please.” Twilight said, holding out a hand. “I don’t want your pity.” There was a pause before Twilight drew in a shaky breath and continued speaking. “You said you’d tell me your story.”

“Alright.” Carnage said. “My adventure was the same as yours save for the ending and what happened after it. Instead of shattering the Mirror of Twilight and leaving me behind, Midna took me with her. I was so excited, I knew I had feelings for her and now she would finally reciprocate them, but no. She was using me during my adventure, and she was using me after it. As soon as we arrived in the Twilight Realm, she chained me up and thrust a… thrust a m-mask on my face. She led me around like a dog, and she treated me like one too.” He paused. “One night, I was lying chained to a wall in the Twilight Palace, and Ghirahim appeared before me. He teleported me out of the Realm, and that’s when he fused the metal to my skeleton. I met Deity and Feral later that day.” Carnage subconsciously rubbed his wrists.

“That’s… drastically different from my adventure.” Twilight said, completely unsure of how to react. Carnage laughed mirthlessly.

“That Realm was  _ terrible _ , Twilight. Terrible.”

“Did any of the others experience things like that?” Twilight asked, though he dreaded the response.

“That’s not for me to say.” Carnage said. “Even I don’t know the extent of some of their travels.” 

“I can say the same.” Twilight said, thinking about Legend, Time, Wind, and Hryule. There was another pause, as both boys allowed themselves to sink into memories of their past. Eventually Carnage stood up, brushing himself off. 

“We should get back to the house before they notice we’re gone.”

“I agree.” Twilight said. He looked at Carnage.

“Thank you, for sharing that with me.” He said.

“You’re welcome.” Carnage said. “It feels good to just talk about it, and now we each have someone who knows our story.” 

“Yeah.”

“Twilight! Carnage!” Time shouted from the house. The two boys in question looked at each other. 

“Looks like Time already noticed we snuck out.” Carnage said. Twilight sighed. 


	2. Not so Fierce, Deity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deity’s backstory

“Deity.” Time said as they watched the other heroes spar. Currently, there were two matches going: Wind vs Fury and Carnage vs Warriors.  
“Yes?”  
“I’ve seen the looks you’ve been giving my wife. Now, I am often a lenient man, but not when it comes to her. She is taken.”  
“I did not mean offense, Time.” Deity said. “She merely reminds me of my own spouse.”  
“You… you’re married?” Time said, turning to Deity with wide eyes. Deity nodded, beginning to smile.  
“I am. To a woman named Romani.”  
“R-Romani?” Time sputtered.   
“Yes, Romani. Do you know her?”  
“I… did.” Time said. “I went on an adventure to this world called Termina, and there was a girl named Romani there. She was very sweet, but I’d always known Malon was the one for me.”  
“Time? Your real name isn’t Link, is it?”  
“It is, why?” Time said, confused. Deity grinned widely.  
“You’re Link. You’re the Hero of Time. You… you saved my life.” Deity hugged Time. “Thank you, thank you thank you thank you!”   
“Wait. I saved you? Are you from Termina?” Time asked. Deity pulled away from Time, nodding.  
“I am. I lived in Termina when you saved us from the moon.”  
“You did?” Time was in shock.   
“I did. I wasn’t anyone important or anything, just a random resident of Clock Town. But you saved my life.”   
“How did you find the Fierce Deity’s mask?” Time asked with a loose gesture at Deity’s face. “I have it with me.”  
“I didn’t find the mask. I’m still not 100% sure how it happened, but I think a fragment of the Fierce Deity’s spirit escaped the mask. And it found me. It tried to possess me, but I resisted. The Terminians told me I was in a coma for weeks, mentally battling the Deity’s Spirit. We finally came to a compromise: the Deity can inhabit my body, but it cannot inhabit my mind. When I woke from that coma, I looked like this.” Deity looked down at himself. “Ghirahim found me a week or so afterwards, and he helped me master my powers.”  
“Powers?” Time asked. “What kind of powers?”  
“I can summon the double helix sword, which you already saw. I also have minor control over the passage of time.” At Time’s questioning glance, Deity elaborated. “I can create a small bubble around myself where time moves quicker or slower.”   
“These powers are from the Deity, correct?” Time said. Deity nodded. “So part of the Fierce Deity leaked from this mask?” Time reached into his bag, running a hand along the nose of the Fierce Deity’s mask.   
“Yes.” Deity confirmed.  
“Could it happen again?”  
“I do not think so, though I suppose there is always the possibility.”   
“That does nothing to soothe me.” Time muttered.   
“Let’s not dwell on that right now.” Deity said. “The spirit won’t escape unless we use the mask. So just don’t use it.”  
“I think I can manage that.” Time conceded, though he felt a twinge of fear. I can manage that if Ghirahim doesn’t wallop us again.   
“Old Man!” Legend shouted. Time turned to see Legend strike a dramatic pose, slinging his sword over his shoulder. “I challenge you to a duel.”  
“Oh, I dunno,” Time said, standing up and stretching. “My old bones aren’t exactly fit for a duel.”   
“I knew it.” Legend teased. “Twilight, hand over the Silver Rupee.” Twilight scowled, rummaging around to grab the metallic gem.  
“Wait, what’s this about a Silver Rupee?” Time said.  
“Oh, Twilight over here bet me a Silver Rupee you’d win. And, since you’re not going to duel, I get it without even having to try.” Legend accompanied his statement with an annoying wink. Time sighed.  
“Let me get my sword.” He said. Legend cheered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, sorry this one was short


	3. Leaving Lon Lon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A filler chapter, with some more Twilight angst because I think I have a problem

Hyrule woke up second, on the third day of the boy’s stay at Lon Lon Ranch. 

The other person who was awake was Twilight, who was currently crouched where he’d been sleeping and clutching his head.

“Twilight!” Hyrule whispered. “What’s wrong?” Twilight looked up at Hyrule, eyes clouded with pain.

“I have a headache.” He said back.  _ Yeah, no kidding.  _ Hyrule thought. “I think we’re Switching today.” Hyrule began to notice a slight headache creeping up on him.  _ Yup, we’re definitely Switching.  _

“I’ll go wake Time.” Hyrule said. He got up, then remembered that Time was sleeping with Malon. His face reddened. “On second thought, I’ll wait for him to wake up.” 

“He is awake.” Time said suddenly, standing at the top of the stairs. Hyrule jumped.

“We’re Switching today.” Twilight said, voice muffled. Time’s expression flashed with sympathy for Twilight, and then disappointment at leaving. 

“Do you need a potion or something, Pup?” Time asked. “Or Wild could cook something, I know your headaches get pretty bad.”

“I’m fine.” Twilight said. “It’ll pass once we Switch. Besides, I’ve only passed out once because of this.” Hyrule looked at Time in alarm, he hadn’t known about that. It must’ve been before he’d joined the group. 

“You guys come downstairs when you’re ready, okay? Make sure to pack up your things.” Time said. He turned and went back down, probably to talk to Malon.

“Sure thing, dad.” Twilight muttered. 

“I heard that!” Time called. Twilight rolled his eyes, and Hyrule chuckled. 

“We should wake them up, right?” Hyrule asked. Twilight nodded, pushing himself to his feet—Hyrule noticed he was unsteady when standing; his headache was clearly worse than it normally was. The two boys woke up the others, with Carnage, Legend, Fury, and Darkness awakening with groans.

“Are we Switching today?” Fury asked. 

“Yeah.” Legend said. “Better get packed, who knows if our items will Switch with us again.” He began counting to ensure all his items were where they should be. 

“If you go downstairs, me and Feral prepared a little surprise.” Wild said with a mischievous grin. Twilight gave him a vaguely worried glance, but he did go downstairs—almost tripping on the last step. The others went downstairs, and Darkness tripped too. 

There, on Malon’s kitchen table, was a very large and very decadent fruit cake. 

“Wild…” Hyrule said. “Did you and Feral bake this?” 

“I did most of the baking, Feral did the frosting and the fruit decorations.” Wild said. Feral nodded.

“Wow, Fawn, you certainly were very delicate.” Carnage said appreciatively. Feral blushed and the praise and the nickname. 

“Thanks.” He said. “You guys can eat it, you know.”

“I’ll do the cutting.” Wild said. 

A few minutes later, everyone was eating cake.

“This is really good, Cub.” Twilight said, about to put a fork loaded with cake into his mouth.

“Thanks.” Wild said.

“It’s even helping with my headache.” Hyrule said. 

“We put a Red Potion in it.” Feral said. Twilight and Hyrule nearly choked.

“You did what?” Carnage asked.

“We put a Red Potion in the cake.” Feral repeated. “We just replaced part of the liquid with Red Potion instead.”

“That was wasteful.” Legend commented. “But it’s delicious, so I don’t care that much.”

“Normally I would care,” Twilight said, “But my headache was making it hard for me to think, and I’ll take all the help I can get.”

“As long as none of you need a Red Potion before we get a replacement, it’s fine with me.” Hyrule said. Wild and Feral high-fived. 

“Do I smell cake?” Time said as he walked in. His eyes landed on the remaining two slices of fruitcake. “It appears I do.” He said before picking up a piece and eating it. Malon came in a moment later, looking right as rain save for a tear mark down her cheek. She picked up the last slice of cake and began eating it. 

“So you boys are leaving soon then?” She said.

“I think so.” Fury said. 

“Thank you for letting us stay here.” Feather said. Malon smiled at him.

“It was no problem. In fact, it was a nice change from my normal, lonely life.” 

“We should get going.” Time said with an apologetic look at Malon. She shook her head—almost imperceptibly—at him. 

“Alright.” Malon said. “Before you go, I’d like to send you off with something.”

“That’s okay, you’ve already done so much—” Twilight said.

“Quiet, country boy.” Malon said, a bit of a smile coming to her face. “I can’t come with you, so I’m making myself useful.” Malon turned, opening a cupboard and revealing four Red Potions. “You take these.” 

“Thanks.” Hyrule said, putting the Potions in his pack. “We’ll try not to use them all up.”

“I would hope you wouldn’t need to.” Malon said. She glanced at Time. “Though I suppose it’s always nice to have insurance.”

“Agreed.” Feather said, rubbing his arm.

“Let’s be off then.” Legend said. He left the room, waiting outside. The others quickly followed him, until just Time remained. 

“Malon—” Time started.

“Shush.” Malon said with a sad smile. “When you come back I’ll be here waiting for you, okay?” Time swallowed, mouth dry. “Just make sure you do come back.”

“I will.” Time promised. He kissed her, then turned and went outside. Malon sighed shakily, wiping her eyes.  _ He’ll come back. _ She told herself.  _ He always does. _

“You alright, Old Man?” Twilight asked as Time approached.

“Yeah.” Time said. “Or at least, I will be. Let’s just get going.” He spun and began walking down the path. The others began walking as well, with Twilight and Legend walking besides each other.

“Are you… okay?” Legend asked. Twilight paused, caught off guard—Legend almost never asked anyone about their emotions, let alone him.

“I’m fine.” Twilight said, even as images of himself and Midna began bombarding him. “I’m happy for Time, I just… wish I could have it.” He laughed, though he didn’t feel happy. “That’s selfish of me.”

“No, I don’t think it is.” Legend said. “I get it.” Malon’s song began to play in his head. 

“Well, that’s a story for another day.” Twilight said with a smile. “For now, let’s just appreciate the fact we’re all alive and uninjured.”

“Mostly.” Legend said, gesturing at Twilight’s face and the Hawkeye Mask. Twilight laughed, for real this time.

“Mostly.” He agreed. He was about to say something more when a spell of dizziness hit him, and he fell to his knees.

“Twilight?” Legend said, voice rising.

“We’re Switching.” Twilight said. He let out a cry of pain as his headache returned, with double strength. This alerted Wild.

“Twilight!” Wild said. “Are you—”

Wild was cut off as they Switched Hyrules.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is Darkness’ backstory, have fun!
> 
> PS if you have suggestions for things, I’m open
> 
> Also please tell me if somethings annoying in my writing


	4. Chapter 4

Twilight was dropped in the middle of the ocean. 

He choked on salt water as he was plunged in the frigid sea. 

His Hawkeye Mask fell off his face, sending his world into complete darkness. He screamed, but he was still underwater. His scream was not heard.

“—light! Twilight!” Someone yelled, pulling him above the surface. Twilight gasped.

“The mask fell off.” Someone else whispered. It sounded like Wind.

“Twilight, can you tread water?” Time asked. No, not Time. The voice was too deep for Time.  _ Deity _ . 

“Y-yeah, I can.” Twilight said. Deity abruptly released his hold on Twilight, who clumsily began treading water. 

“We’re in my Hyrule.” Wind said. 

“You don’t say.” Legend snapped. 

“Why don’t we stop arguing and get out of the water before we all get hypothermia?” Hyrule said atop Time’s back—he and Warriors couldn’t swim, Warriors was currently being supported by Feather and Obsession. 

“Wind, are there any islands near here?” Wild asked. 

“I think that’s Outset Island in the distance.” Wind said, pointing. He was grinning, despite being in the middle of an ocean.

“Then let’s get swimming.” Sky said. “Wild I’ll help support you. Twilight, you grab Wild’s shoulder and follow us.” 

“There’s a Great Fairy on this island, or at least there was.” Wind said as he swam, being supported by Deity—Wind was a very strong swimmer, but he did get tired. “Maybe she can heal your eyes.” 

“I sure hope so.” Twilight said. 

About 45 minutes of swimming later, eighteen tired and soaking wet boys crawled onto the sandy beaches of Outset Island.

“I need to learn how to swim.” Warriors coughed.

“Now’s as good a time as any.” Time said. 

“Uh, guys?” Apprentice said. “There’s Chuchus.”

“Aw, crap.” Wind said. He drew his sword. “These guys are pushovers, it won’t take long to kill ‘em. Just be careful of the Blue ones, they’ll electrocute you.”

“Got it.” Time said, holding the Biggoron Sword. The boys tore through the Chuchus in a matter of seconds, with no one suffering any injuries. 

“That wasn’t too bad.” Legend commented.

“Don’t jinx it.” Warriors warned. 

“Let’s head to the Fairy Woods.” Wind said.

“Are you sure you don’t want to visit your sister and grandma first?” Carnage asked. Wind nodded.

“I’m sure. They don’t know we’re here yet, and we should just go heal Twi’s—”

“Link!” A voice yelled. 

“I think they know we’re here.” Fury commented. Wind turned, seeing Aryll running towards him. 

“You’re back!” She said.

“Aryll!” Wind exclaimed, hugging his sister. 

“And you brought your friends! Who are the new guys?”

“This is Apprentice, Obsession, Darkness, Deity, Carnage, Feather, Assassin, Feral, and Fury. They’re traveling with us for a while.”

“Cool! I remember your other friends. You should come inside, Grandma’s going to be super excited!” 

“We’d love to come in, but we have to get to the Fairy Woods first.”

“Why?” Aryll asked, cocking her head.

“My friend—” Wind jerked a thumb at Twilight, “lost his vision. We’re going to ask the Great Fairy to heal him.”

“He can’t see?” Wind shook his head. “Oh, that won’t do at all. You go help him, I’ll tell Grandma you’re here and she can make soup!”

“Sounds great!” Wind gave Aryll a thumbs-up. She smiled at him again, then ran down the beach back to the house. There were a few seagulls trailing her. “Alright, me hearties!” Wind said. “Let us embark to the Fairy Woods!” 

“We made it!” Wind said, standing before the suspension bridge that led to the Fairy Woods. “Come on, the Great Fairy is only a few minutes away?”

“Wow, the Great Fairy lives in the Fairy Woods?” Fury muttered. “Shocker.” Legend and Obsession snickered. Time gave them a disappointed look. Wind, seemingly not having heard the comment, ran down the suspension bridge and waited for his companions to catch up. They followed, with Apprentice clinging tightly to Darkness’ arm—the other boy initially recoiled, but he relaxed and pulled Apprentice close when he saw how terrified Wind’s counterpart was. 

They entered the Fairy Woods, and Wind immediately noticed something was wrong. There was an air of suspense, and danger, circulating throughout the trees.

Something screeched above them. 

“It’s a Kargaroc!” Wind shouted. “It’s probably going to drop some sort of enemy on us.”

“What in Hylia’s name is that?” Apprentice asked, pointing to the sky. The Kargaroc was carrying a large, pig-like creature wielding a spear.

“It’s a Moblin.” Wind growled. “Since there’s only one, everything will be fine. I’ll take care of it.”

“Be careful.” Hyrule said. The Moblin crashed to the ground, spotting Wind and readying its weapon. Wind drew his sword, circling the Moblin. He suddenly rolled around it, slashing up its spine with a triumphant ‘ha’. The Moblin was flung into a nearby tree, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke. 

“There.” Wind said, putting his sword back in its sheath. “That wasn’t so bad—”

A chorus of screeches drowned out whatever else Wind was going to say. Hyrule, glancing up and seeing a flock of two dozen Kargarocs descending, each holding a Moblin in its talons. They dropped off their cargo, then flew away. 

“Okay, uh, looks like we’re all going to kill them!” Wind shouted.

“No kidding!” Apprentice said, annoyed. The various heroes and counterparts drew their weapons and engaged the Moblins in combat. Hyrule, Darkness, and Fury stayed back, the latter using his large variety of magic rods, the former two using their magic. Darkness appeared to have many of the same spells Hyrule had, he’d used the Fire and Thunder spells multiple times already. Hyrule was shocked at his level of resilience to use the magic so quickly. Carnage was using a bit of his own Twili magic, firing what appeared to be shards of glass at the Moblins. Twilight, who clearly wanted to join the fight, was being protected by Wild and Time. 

The eighteen boys made for a formidable force, but the Moblins were considerably tougher than Hyrule expected.

“I think they’re infected!” Warriors called, upon slashing a Moblin to the ground and splattering his face with its dark blood.

“No kidding.” Darkness muttered. He was feeling dizzy from how often he’d been using his spells, and he could feel Hyrule looking at him with moderate concern. Hyrule was about to ask him something when someone screamed: Obsession. The boy had just been slashed by a Moblin’s spear, down the length of his side. He was bleeding out rapidly onto the ground.

Hyrule gasped, running to Obsession, when Darkness screamed as well. It was the loudest sound Hyrule had ever heard Darkness make, and he turned. Darkness was impaled on the end of a spear, evidently more fatigued than he’d let on. The Moblin cackled, flinging Darkness to the side. The cloaked boy collapsed with a groan. Hyrule, cursing himself as he ran, went to Darkness. 

“I’m fine.” Darkness gasped.

“You were just stabbed—” Hyrule said.

“I am  _ fine _ .” Darkness said. He pulled up his shirt, exposing a hole in his chest, though there was no blood. “It’ll heal; I’m not hurt. Go help Obsession.  _ Please _ .” Hyrule nodded, throat dry and eyes wide. He ran back over to Obsession, hands glowing with pink energy. Deity and Warriors were frantically defending their fallen friend, while the other boys just tried to keep the Moblins at bay. Obsession’s eyes were closed, and his breathing was steadily shallowing. His face was as pale as paper (the only other time Hyrule had ever seen anyone that pale had been Legend, during a thunderstorm). Hyrule knelt besides Obsession, ducking as a spear went flying over his head. He thrust his magic from his hands and into Obsession, who gasped as the gaping wound closed up. He looked at Hyrule.

“Thank you.” He said. Hyrule paused, mind processing what had just happened. Obsession never thanked anyone, why would he thank  _ Hyrule _ , of all people?

Hyrule didn’t have time to think about it, as he collapsed into unconsciousness moments after saving Obsession’s life. 

Wind slashed down the final Moblin, looked worriedly at Obsession. The boy was mostly healed, with Hyrule slumped over him—drained from his use of magic. 

“That’s the last of them!” Wind announced.

“There better not be more.” Fury muttered, putting his various magic rods into their respective clips on his back. 

“There won’t be.” Wind assured him.

“Yeah!” Warriors said. “Besides, if there were more, we could take them too.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Time said. “Four members of our group are incapacitated.”

“Four?” Assassin asked. 

“Twilight, Hyrule, Obsession, and Carnage.”

“What’s wrong with Carnage?” Feral said, turning and looking at his mentor.    
“I’m just dizzy, that’s all.” Carnage said with a flick of his hand. “Let’s go talk to this Great Fairy.” He took a step forward, only to stumble to his knees.

“Just dizzy, huh?” Deity said with a smug expression. He supported Carnage, allowing the younger boy to lean on him. “Wind, lead us to the fountain.” Wind nodded. He walked through a cluster of trees, coming to where the Great Fairy was sitting on a tree stump.

“Link.” She said, speaking with a voice made of voices. “What brings you back here? I cannot upgrade anything further.” 

“I know, Great Fairy.” Wind said. “I have injured companions, and I was wondering if you could heal them.”

“It depends on the extent of their injuries.” The Great Fairy said. She ran her eyes over the group. “I can heal these four.” She said, pointing to Twilight, Hyrule, Obsession, and Carnage. “That one, however, is beyond my reach.” She looked at Darkness.

“He’s… not injured.” Fury said. The Great Fairy smiled knowingly.

“If you say so. Now, have the four step forwards.” Carnage and Obsession walked up to the Great Fairy, with Obsession carrying Hyrule. Wild nudged Twilight forwards. The Great Fairy waved her hands in a complex pattern, summoning a cluster of fairies into the air. They flew around the four injured boys. 

Obsession’s wound completely closed up, and Hyrule awoke with a start. He fell out of Obsession’s arms, emitting a small ‘oof’ upon hitting the ground. Carnage looked down at his fingers with a grin, and Twilight gasped. 

“I can see.” He said, staring at his hands. “I can see! Thank you!” Twilight was grinning wider than Hyrule had ever seen. Twilight turned to Wild and Time, who smiled just as wide at Twilight’s unmarred gaze. 

“Welcome back, Pup.” Time said. Twilight ran forward, enveloping his mentor in a hug. Legend and Wind laughed. 

“Thank you, Great Fairy.” Wind said with a respectful bow. The Great Fairy smiled.

“You are welcome, Link.” She said, before disappearing in a puff of pink smoke. 

“We should get going to your sister and grandma.” Warriors said, ruffling Wind’s hair. Wind smiled, playfully batting his hand away.

“Good idea. Come on guys!” Wind ran off through the woods, going back across the bridge.

“You guys go, me and Darkness will catch up in a minute.” Hyrule said. Twilight and Carnage turned around with concerned looks.

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked. Hyrule nodded.

“We’ll be fine.”

“But that’s splitting up,” Carnage said, “and we are  _ not _ allowed to split up.”

“It’ll be okay.” Darkness said with a slight smile at Carnage.

“But—”

“Carnage.” Twilight said, putting his hand on Carnage’s shoulder. “They’re capable, I’m sure they’ll be fine. If it makes you feel better, we’ll come and check on them if they’re not back in an hour, alright?”

“Alright…” Carnage said, though he was clearly still uncertain. The two boys walked from the woods.

“I believe you have some explaining to do.” Hyrule said, turning around and looking at Darkness with his hands on his hips. 

“I… don’t know what you mean.” Darkness said. Hyrule rolled his eyes.

“You do. Sit down.” Hyrule and Darkness sat on some tree stumps, and Hyrule continued talking. “What was that back there?”   
“W-what was what?”

“You got stabbed, but there wasn’t any blood and you weren’t hurt.” Hyrule said.

“Oh. That.” Darkness said, rubbing the back of his neck. “This probably sounds crazy, but… in any of your adventures, have enemies that wanted to drain your… blood?” Hyrule stiffened, his heart skipping a beat.

“Yeah, that did happen. Why do you care?” He asked, eyes narrowing. 

“It… happened to me too.” Darkness said. Hyrule gasped.

“Wait, really?” He said incredulously. Darkness nodded.

“The reason my wounds didn’t bleed… it’s because there’s no blood left in me.” Darkness paused to let Hyrule soak up his words.

“You mean… you mean the monsters  _ succeeded _ ?” Hyrule said in shock. Darkness nodded, pulling his hood over his face. 

“Yeah. They did, and they would’ve resurrected Ganon had Ghirahim not come in and stopped them.”

“ _ Ghirahim _ stopped them? Why would he care?”

“He said it was because he still had plans for me.” Darkness said. He shivered.

“So… are you…”

“Dead? Evidently not, but I think I’m stuck in some sort of limbo between being dead and being alive.” Darkness looked away from Hyrule, anxiously rubbing his arms. Hyrule paused, unsure of how to respond. “We should be getting back before Carnage and Twilight get worried.” Without another word, Darkness turned with a swish of his cloak and began leaving the woods. Hyrule, still in shock, hesitated a moment longer before sighing and following suit.


	5. Scarred Splashing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluff by the ocean

“Aryll!” Wind shouted as the eighteen boys ran down to the beach.

“Link!” His sister squealed. She skipped across the sand to him. “Grandma’s making soup, she says it’ll be ready in a couple hours.” 

“Great. That’s some time to swim then, huh?”

“Yup!” Aryll said with a smile. Wind pumped his fist in the air. 

“Guys, come on!” He shouted. “We’re going swimming.” The boys, who had been sitting in the sand and waiting for Hyrule and Darkness, looked up.

“We should wait for them to come back first.” Carnage said, referring to their two missing members.

“I agree.” Twilight said. 

“Alright, well we can at least get ready to swim, can’t we?” Apprentice said, cocking his head.

“Yeah!” Wind said. He sat in the sand, taking his boots off. “I’ll swim in my pants.” He said, mostly to himself—though Warriors heard it and gave him a weird look. The various heroes began preparing to swim, the majority of them simply taking their shirts off. This exposed a wide variety of scars:

Warrior’s burn, from Volga. 

The extensive scarring across Wild’s side.

A slice on Twilight’s middle that he claimed was from a horse’s hoof.

Some scratching scars along Time’s ribs.

A huge burned scar around Carnage’s neck and collarbone.

Various scars on Obsession’s torso and arms, probably from swords. 

And six scars on Apprentice’s side, three on the right and three on the left. They looked like talon marks.

The Light heroes gave Apprentice some concerned looks, but they were heroes; they’d seen worse. 

“We’re back!” Hyrule shouted, running down the beach towards his friends. Darkness was trailing behind him, cloak billowing. 

“Great!” Wind said. “We’re just about to go swimming, wanna come?”

“I… can’t swim.” Hyrule said with a hint of a teasing smile. Wind smacked himself in the forehead.

“Right, I forgot.”

“War can’t swim either.” Legend said with a smirk. Warriors elbowed him.

“I know I can’t, but you don’t need to tell everyone that loudly.” He said. Wind laughed.

“It’s no problem War, me and Apprentice can teach you!”

“Yeah!” Apprentice said. He and Wind high-fived. Hyrule and Darkness undressed down to their pants, ready to figure out how to swim. Wind noticed they had identical stab scars, Hyrule’s on the left of his ribcage, Darkness’ on the right.  _ Huh.  _ Wind thought. 

“Alright, Obsession can you swim?”

“Of course I can.” Obsession said in his normal snooty tone. Warriors rolled his eyes, but there was a small smile on his face. 

“Good. Then Warriors, Darkness, Hyrule, you three come over here with me and Apprentice. The rest of you, have fun swimming.”

“Yes, sir!” Legend said, saluting. Fury mimicked the motion. The thirteen of them ran into the water, where Wild immediately started a splashing match with Twilight.

“You have made a fatal mistake, Cub.” Twilight said, trying to make his voice sound deep and menacing. He splashed a tidal wave over Wild’s head, dunking the younger boy under the water. When Wild surfaced, he called out, 

“Feral, I need backup!”

“Sure thing!” Feral said with a grin befitting his name. He swam over to Wild. With a flick of a wrist, Twilight was suddenly drenched in salt water. “Wait, you can control water too?”   
“Yup.” Feral replied. 

“Crud. Carnage!” Twilight said, raising his voice. “My friend! Please, come to my aid before our crazy friends drown me!”

“Certainly, my comrade!” Carnage said. He swam over to Twilight, seeming more graceful in the water than he was on land. The four boys engaged in a splashing  _ war _ , with Feral seeming to ensure Wild’s and his victory.

That is, until Time and Legend joined on Twilight’s side.

Then Deity, Fury, and Obsession on Wild’s.

Four and Assassin were standing ankle deep in the water, watching their friends with mixed and constantly changing expressions of disdain, amusement, and confusion.

Sky and Feather had swum out farther, and were floating on their backs and chatting amiably with each other. 

Someone cursed: Warriors, who had just stepped into water he couldn’t touch the ground in.

“Paddle with your arms, not just your legs!” Wind yelled.

“I’m trying!” Warriors said, floundering. Darkness swam past him, having gotten the hang of swimming almost immediately. Hyrule was doing moderately well, but he was petrified of trying to swim in water he couldn’t touch in—Apprentice was currently helping the brown-haired hero to move farther away from the shoreline, though it was slow going. 

“Hoi!” A shrill voice yelled. It startled Feral, who had a large orb of water floating above his head (he was preparing to send it Legend’s way). He lost control of it, and it fell onto him. Legend practically doubled over laughing. “Time to come inside!” Aryll shouted.

“Got it, Ari!” Wind shouted back. “Looks like that’s it for now.” Wind said, turning to his friends. 

“Are we going to eat something now?” Warriors inquired as he picked his clothes up off the sand. 

“We sure are.” Wind said. He then looked past Warriors and burst out laughing. “Twi what the heck—” Warriors turned, grinning as he saw that Twilight was shaking water out of his hair, like a dog.

“Finally!” Carnage said. “Someone else who does that!” He did the same thing, spraying water everywhere. Twilight and Carnage high-fived. The other boys laughed at them. 

“Big Brother!” Aryll shouted. “Hurry up!”

“We’re coming!” Wind replied. He ran up the beach towards his house, with the others following him. 

A very hectic few minutes later, all eighteen boys had managed to find a spot to sit in Wind’s house. Wind, Aryll, and his Grandma were sharing the job of getting everyone soup. It was miraculous that they didn’t run out, considering how much each of the boys could eat (particularly Twilight, Time, Wild, Warriors, and their counterparts). 

“This is really good.” Fury commented, finishing up a second bowl. Wind’s Grandma smiled.

“Thank you. I’m happy you like it.”

“You think you could give me the recipe?” Wild asked.

“Sure. Just let me write it down for you.” The old woman turned around, retrieving a piece of paper. She scribbled down some things, then handed it to Wild.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Now, I’ll fix you up with some soup for the road and then you boys best be getting into bed.”

“Bed?” Wind said. “But Grandma, it’s not that late! I’ve stayed up later.”

“Not in my house.” His Grandma said, wagging a finger. “You’ll go to bed when I say so, and I say now. For all of you.” She looked at Time. “Including you.” Time laughed. 

“I wouldn’t expect otherwise.” He said. “Thank you for your hospitality, we’re not exactly an easy group to host.”

“Any friend of my grandson’s is a friend of mine.” She said with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I have an announcement:  
> I’m taking a break from writing this fic. Now, before any of you start sharpening your knives, hear me out. I’ve spent a lot of time writing this, and it’s getting hard to continue. I think my brain wants a break. I WILL come back to it, I promise, I just have a lot of ideas for other fics I’d like to try out.


	6. Return of a Villain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story picks back up again!

Legend woke up to screaming. 

He sprung to his feet, hand grabbing his sword—which he slept with, just to be careful. 

“What?” He exclaimed. He then noticed why Hyrule had screamed. Feather lay in the grass, which meant they’d Switched in their sleep again. 

The only problem was that Feather was drenched in blood. His blood. 

“He’s dead.” Four said, stunned. 

“What? No. There’s… there’s no way.” Warriors argued.

“Look at him!” Assassin shouted. “His throat is slit.”

“Who did this?” Time asked. 

“I think this can tell us.” Sky said, hands shaking as he picked up a piece of paper. 

“What does it say?” Feral said. 

“‘I just love painting clouds red!’” Sky read. “It’s from Ghirahim.”

“That son of a…” Carnage clenched his fists. “I’m gonna kill him. I’m gonna kill him!” He screamed. “I’m gonna break his nose and break his fingers and break every bone in his goddess-forsaken body, and I’m gonna make him drink his own blood—”

“Carnage!” Deity said, voice making the ground shake. Carnage’s head snapped around to look at Deity, the boy’s eyes wide and crazed. “Stop. I know you are upset, but we can fix this.”

“Oh yeah?” Fury snarled. “How can we fix this? He’s  _ dead _ .”

“I think I can fix it.” Wild said. “Just… give me a minute.” He knelt next to Feather, hands clasped. It almost looked like he was praying. He grabbed Feather’s wrist, making Carnage tense up—Deity grabbed the wolflike boy’s arm, just to make sure Wild didn’t suffer a premature death. The ghost of a Zora maiden appeared floating above Feather, and she smiled sadly at Wild before dissolving. 

Feather gasped, eyes snapping open and hand flying to his neck. Apprentice, who had been trying not to cry, broke down. He wrapped his arms around Feather. 

“D-don’t you ever do that ag-again.”

“I was dead…” Feather said quietly. “How am I not dead?”

“Wild saved you.” Warriors explained. Feather smiled at Wild.

“Thank you. Now, can I please wash this blood off?”

“I got you.” Feral said with a grin. Feather was suddenly doused in water and sprayed with it from all directions. He was soaking wet, but the blood was gone.

“That’s one way to do it.” Twilight commented. 

“We need to go after Ghirahim before he kills another one of us.” Warriors said. 

“There’s no way he can kill us as fast as you just killed the mood.” Legend muttered. Warriors elbowed him. 

“Despite the way it was phrased,” Deity interrupted, “Warriors is correct. We need to get going and find Ghirahim’s position.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Darkness asked. 

“He’ll probably just come to us.” Assassin guessed. “We just have to be on our guard.” 

“Agreed.” Twilight said, hand reaching up towards his Shadow Crystal. 

“Well, Legend,” Time began, “This is your Hyrule. Is there anywhere we can go?”   
“We could always try my old house.” Legend said with a shrug. “Follow me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers! Sorry about the break; it was a much needed one :P
> 
> I will be posting the third work in the “Darksverse” series soon, hopefully!


End file.
